Holiday makers at Heathrow pay an eye-watering £12 to park for one to two hours – the highest airport rate in the world.

The peak-time fee at Terminal 4, uncovered by a Sunday Mirror investigation, compares to £3.65 at New York’s JFK and £6.60 at Paris Charles De Gaulle. Only Sydney Airport comes close, charging £11.

The AA’s Paul Watters attacked the London airport’s prices, saying: “Drivers will feel they are being fleeced.

“They don’t want the stress of big parking charges when they are worrying about getting people to the airport on time.”

In Athens and Berlin, people dropping off passengers get 20 minutes or five minutes free respectively before charges kick in. Airport operators hiked Heathrow parking charges in September, bringing in peak morning and evening rates at Terminal 4. At off-peak times, drivers pay £10 for one to two hours while a 24-hour stay costs £53.90.

A Heathrow spokesman said trial peak time charges had been brought in to try to ease traffic ­problems around Terminal 4.